Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Cats! They appear calm and lazy! But they have SECRET, VIOLENT MINDS that constantly want to harm humans and get THEIR TERRIFYING REVENGE!

This is perhaps one of the most overplayed tropes there is. It has birthed a Dilbert character, a classic Onion headline, a far too old meme, a good comic (last time i checked anyway) a bad comic, and god knows what else.

The "It's all a dream!" plot is also overused, at least in xkcd. There was that school nightmare one, there was that piratey one? There was this one, and like before, there's probably more that I can't find right now. feel free to add things.

Anyway, this comic is just another crappy "Cats! what if they were EVIL??" joke. These are nearly impossible to do well, and this comic comes nowhere close.

Posted by
Carl

91 comments:

I think this comic might be sliiiightly better if it wasn't for that "lasercat" part. It's completely out of nowhere, doesn't fit with a cat's dream. It fulfilling its ambition of getting the laser point is good enough.

Meanwhile, new comic is... not a comic, for one. It's a huge panel with no such thing as a reading order. In fact, it's a mess. A mess of smaller jokes, some slightly funny, some just RANDOM LOL, some... not very funny.

And the alt-text is a bit amusing. But the comic is a seemingly random mass of random jokes put together. And that's not good. At all.

Carl never said anything was lolcat based. He said they were all based on cats being evil. Which is a very very old idea.

I personally hated this comic. Lots of people seemed to like it. I tried to explain to them why but they'd just go "kitty!" or "lasers!" or "nom nom."

Pretty hard to argue with that, I suppose.

The new one is god awful but I'm sure fanboys will drool over it because its a circuit diagram. None of the "jokes" are funny. Seriously, the most clever bit was probably "not a resistor; wire just does this" and thats because it plays with preconceived notions.

Anon 9:58, I'm weirdly gratified to know that I'm not the only one who looked at that whole absurd mess of a diagram and went, "Hah, the wire just does that, that's sort of funny." Most of it just seemed like a visual version of a prove-your-geek-cred quiz.

@10:47 Nope. Who doesn't want laser eyes... What would you shoot with laser eyes? The nearest living thing I bet. I certainly would shoot the nearest living thing that is not myself. (I'm not the 10:23 anon, I'm someone else entirely)

Anyone who tries this "psyche the kitten" game with a laser pointer ONCE understands what an incredible mind-fuck it is for the poor animal. Imagine! A preditor who is unable to kill and rend, not through lack of skill, but by a two-dimensional object that it cannot comprehend.

Anyone who does this TWICE is performing nothing less than a sophisticated form of pet-abuse.

Any pussy-suckass coward who feels the need to torture his pets should be murdered in glorious fashion.

Anon 11:27: My cat, while she may not know exactly what a laser pointer is, knows enough that I'm causing the red dot. When it stops, she looks at me until I turn it back on. And she will dash across the apartment if she hears the jingle of the pointer's chain.

I'd hardly call a game she willingly plays and seems to enjoy "pet abuse".

New comic was a sad low. Half the jokes were just "Lol, these pictures have no place in a circuit diagram!". Others are only there for geek cred ("LOL a flux capacitor I LOVE BACK TO THE FUTURE TOO!") and there's yet another annoying sexkcd joke stuffed in there. Also is there anything more pathetic than trying to get your own made up phrase into the popular lexicon again by using it in your alt text years later?

There are a few decent gags in there if you're willing to search for it amongst the filler. The "solder blob" as part of the diagram should be amusing for anybody who has stuffed up soldering before. The "touch tongue here" bit is mildly amusing, if a bit silly. "120 Ohms or to taste" is alright. People have already commented on the not-resistor-actually-wire one.

The "two currents go in, one current comes out" arena section is a nice understated reference. I might even venture to guess that it was the centre of his idea and he just decided to make it more elaborate but quickly ran out of good ideas and threw in a bunch of stupid stuff like the squirrel, sad face, and scarab bugs.

Anyway: "warm front" and "wire just does that" kind of amusing cos of the subversion n' all; I'm sure if I'd known that was a flip-flop that'd have been pretty funny; the mass grid of resistors is not sodding funny at all, because he already did "mass grids of resistors are hard!" in the nerd-sniping one and there it was part of an actual joke; most of the rest just LOLRANDOM.

Honestly, I find this blog to be a laughable waste of time. It's one thing to dislike a webcomic, it's quite another to search for things to dislike. No webcomic is ALL good or ALL bad, and your blog seems to think that every xkcd comic is just flat out terrible. The few of your posts that I have read have seemed stretched, searching for a complicated explanation of why something is unoriginal, and why those who find it funny are stupid.

Tightening a close group of supporters while alienating others by belittling them? Sounds like Fox news to me.

I enjoyed 729 simply because Mr. Munroe broke his horrible habit of telling and not showing. I think we can all agree this is better than a comic of two stick figures watching a sleeping cat going, "Hur hur I bet it dreams about catching a lazer pointer lol" or something.

730 is... well, meh. It's not really visually stimulating, like some of his poster comics, and most of the text lines are just nerd references. The alt-text was another self-reference, but because it referenced a half-decent comic, I'll give him some slack.

All in all, this comic does for me pretty much the exact same as the logarithmic scale of the universe, except less fun to look at; they're both larger panels than normal, filled with geek culture references, and almost certainly going to be an item in the store.

Newest comic /could have/ been brilliant... if it had actual Electronic Engineering references. Even though it would only be funny to a few people, this is XKCD, that's what it's MEANT to be known for! But instead, he makes a slight few engineering references and a mass amount of randomness. Proving, once again, that he's the laziest comic artist ever!

Also, I like Garfield. Sure, it's not the funniest, but it's not really bad either; most of the complaints against it seem to miss the fact that it's meant to be a comic intended for little kids.

The newest comic is the ultimate proof that Randall thinks he can do WHATEVER THE HELL he feels like doing and get away with it with all the honours. And he's most likely right.

The other "poster comics" at least had a somewhat interesting concept, and would be neat even without many of the gags, but this one has no concept at all, and there are startlingly few gags that have any actual humour. Amazing how there was only one thing that struck me as truly clever, and I came here and saw several other people had the same feeling -- i.e. the "not a transistor" thing. The rest of the comic is largely an egregious waste of Internet.

729 was mildly entertaining, though the logic of "eat laser dot; shoot laser from eyes" is not obvious to me. The variation from R:s usual art style was refreshing.

730 is just boring poster bait. (Carl needs to add that as a cathegory under Repeat Offenders.) Some of the little jokes were actual jokes, and some of the actual jokes had something remotely to do with circuits, but they were in minority.

Criticising it here IS relevant because Carl is known to love it, yet many of the criticisms he flicks at XKCD could apply equally to Dino Comics, if not more so. Especially things such as putting in irrelevant references just to please nerds, not having a proper punchline, and putting out whatever rubbish happens to pop into his head at the time.

I did consider this one of the better xkcd's of late, even though Randall overdid it, like always. Would this work better? http://i41.tinypic.com/n5shmp.pngMaybe even better with just three panels, dropping the second one - but that one is sorta cool, even if it's just a clip art cat.

I really don't see how these criticisms could be leveled at Dinosaur Comics. Dinosaur Comics isn't nearly as snarky or preachy as XKCD, T-Rex earnestly enjoys himself and even when he disagrees with something, it's not, "UR STOOPID," but rather, "You're wrong. Or maybe I'm wrong. Actually, now that I look at it, this is pretty petty." I've yet to see a Dinosaur Comic that could really be called preachy.

Another thing is that Dinosaur Comics' characters are relatable (who amongst us has never stomped on a woman?).

And even the comics that are largely just nerd jokes still add new elements that nonnerds can enjoy.

730 is bad. The only slightly funny thing, as mentioned before, was the flip-flop ha ha sandals pun. Everything else is just random crap thrown together. He made no attempt to make anything even remotely make any sense.

It's would've been miles better (at least for the nerdy types - but we all know Randall can't cater to the non-nerds anyway) if he'd actually written a coherent circuit diagram (say, a bog-standard amplifier) substituting joke symbols in relevant places.

Not sure where "bury deep but not too deep" and the "Y-merge" (or "flux capacitor," as some people suspect it is?) belong... regardless, I thought this had enough giggle-inducing puns to be considered a comical success. Between the 666-timer and the most expensive chip available, I enjoyed it.

(though probably not as much as I enjoyed Sam's electric potential pun)

A. It's ironic that I - someone who likes XKCD - spend thirty seconds every other week or so reading the latest comic, while you - who say you utterly despise XKCD - seem to make sure to bathe in it daily.

As far as I can tell, the time you devote to XKCD is really only comparable to its most devoted fans, all of whom - like you - seem to spend way too much time thinking about it.

B. In defense of Munroe himself, all I can say is that he certainly appears to be far less high-strung than the people who come on here (including you as well as your commenters) to blow off steam by ranting for paragraphs about how bad the latest XKCD comic was.

C. Everyone here seems to be disproportionately angry about XKCD. Grow up, people! If you really just hate people who like XKCD, ask people's opinions about the bloody comic before trying to make friends with them! I take no issue with people who dislike XKCD or find it contrived in one way or another. The reverse isn't true for you - when referring to XKCD fans (yes, including people of whom you know pretty much nothing, such as individual comment-posters), you've used plenty of insulting names, none of which are warranted or sensible. I kind of like XKCD, and I'm not really bothering to call you people cocksuckers or any other such name, am I?

I find it depressing, to be honest, that you find it productive to follow XKCD more closely than most of its fans in order to keep a running tally of how much you hate every individual comic Munroe has created. I used to do things like this - rant out loud about how much I hated each new movie I saw. And I realized that it left me feeling pent-up and irritable the majority of my waking life. So I stopped.

There's my two cents. I'm not going to post any more comments unless someone responds to me with something worth responding to.

"A. It's ironic that I - someone who likes XKCD - spend thirty seconds every other week or so reading the latest comic, while you - who say you utterly despise XKCD - seem to make sure to bathe in it daily."

that's not ironic.

"As far as I can tell, the time you devote to XKCD is really only comparable to its most devoted fans, all of whom - like you - seem to spend way too much time thinking about it."

"I take no issue with people who dislike XKCD or find it contrived in one way or another."

except when they express their opinion.

"The reverse isn't true for you - when referring to XKCD fans (yes, including people of whom you know pretty much nothing, such as individual comment-posters), you've used plenty of insulting names, none of which are warranted or sensible."

actually, stupid comments like yours tell a great deal about your character--namely, that you are an idiot. it has nothing to do with whether you like XKCD. it just so happens that, with very few exceptions, everyone who posts on here in defense of XKCD is a fucking moron. thanks for not being one of the exceptions!

"I kind of like XKCD, and I'm not really bothering to call you people cocksuckers or any other such name, am I?"

well, let's see. you have said that we are high-strung people who hate people who like XKCD, who need to grow up, who are depressing, and who are disproportionately angry individuals, exclusively because we dare to say that XKCD sucks. so, yes, you are.

"And I realized that it left me feeling pent-up and irritable the majority of my waking life. So I stopped."

it's not our fault you can't figure out how to enjoy how terrible things are.

I believe the problem with the new xkcd comic is that it is FAR too cluttered... it's like trying to cram 20 'jokes' into one ... without something normal to contrast it with...

Perhaps something more funny would be to take that diagram, take about 3 or 4 pieces out of it, and put it into a hypothetical physics exam that a stick figure needs to complete...

i.e., PHYSICS II FINAL EXAMExplain the purpose of each circuit:

starts off simplegets more complexflip flop joke (maybe even have a two bit shift register and say you can use a pair of sandals instead)the finish off with something silly like the 2 in 1 out arena (mind you, it should be implied that the exam becomes extremely comlicated & silly thereafter)

... perhaps for added comical effect, it can show the person being overly confident before walking into / looking at the examination paper...

AND! ... this comic would come just in time to appease his loyal readers, as they're most likely going through exam season right now! :D

Cat comic was ultra shitty. One of my least favorite in a long time. I do the laser thing to my dog on a somewhat regular basis to keep her on her toes, so I can relate, and it was still shitty. It just wasn't funny. I don't give a shit about what cats think. Shit shit shit shit. Bad comic.

The new one isn't half bad. It's a picto-blag thing, which is fine by me because it's not supposed to be funny. Seeing as how being funny has not been xkcd's strong point lately, a comic that doesn't bother trying has got to be a step up. Or maybe it was supposed to be funny and it is therefore incredibly shitty. Probably not.

"It's ironic that I - someone who likes XKCD - spend thirty seconds every other week or so reading the latest comic, while you - who say you utterly despise XKCD - seem to make sure to bathe in it daily."

Should one REALLY make the Alanis Morissette joke here? I'm not really in the mood today.

No one can follow more closely than a "fan." Obviously, the tools here drink Munroe's cum for breakfast, as any fan would.

What you mean to say, I think, is that this site is more devoted to XKCD than the folks visit the actual site. These folks are proportionately enthused, whilst Carl/Rob/crazy_bitch is(are?)disproportionately enthused. This is what we expect from fans--disproportionate passion which is uncritical and, often, irrational. This blog is all the evidence required to derive this conclusion.

XKCD followers read, comment briefly, then move on with their lives. FANS make websites and devote hours of their lives to their passions. There is nothing sadder in this culture than a fan.

On circuit diagrams a squiggly lines means a resistor or something. "The wire just does this" reorients the perspective of an engineer looking at the diagram - this is akin to the joke "A man walks into a bar and says 'ouch.'"

Two comments eaten by the comment box, I'm not even gonna bother responding Mr. Ben "My time is oh-so-important to bother reading replies, but I'm going to waste it posting a stupid comment anyway" McCormack or the "I think loathing something to the point I wish the author just get better or stop doing it already is the same as blind adoration" cuddlefish.

Instead, to the point: guys! How is this not "cats are evil"? It'd not be if the cat just dreamed about eating the laser, but the sixth and seventh panels turn it into cat evilness! It's simple!

Finally, I hope this last mess of a comic doesn't get turned into a poster, or my respect for Mr. Munroe will finally reach negative levels.

Why did you suggest that the airplane comic would be better if it were all a dream and then go and say that that is exactly what makes this comic bad? Honestly guys, unless this was intentionally ironic or self-effacing humor, you just come off as looking kind of dumb.

I liked this comic. I think it would've been funnier without the ending of it actually being a dream, but overall it had a good punchline, and I really really liked the second panel that was just the cat in silhouette with eyes.

@dendoge The convention I learned, studying in the UK was that a squiggly line represented a pure resistor, and a box represented any impedance - that is a component that has some combination of resistance and capacitance/inductance.

What the hell is this?

Welcome. This is a website called XKCD SUCKS which is about the webcomic xkcd and why we think it sucks. My name is Carl and I used to write about it all the time, then I stopped because I went insane, and now other people write about it all the time. I forget their names. The posts still seem to be coming regularly, but many of the structural elements - like all the stuff in this lefthand pane - are a bit outdated. What can I say? Insane, etc.

I started this site because it had been clear to me for a while that xkcd is no longer a great webcomic (though it once was). Alas, many of its fans are too caught up in the faux-nerd culture that xkcd is a part of, and can't bring themselves to admit that the comic, at this point, is terrible. While I still like a new comic on occasion, I feel that more and more of them need the Iron Finger of Mockery knowingly pointed at them. This used to be called "XKCD: Overrated", but then it fell from just being overrated to being just horrible. Thus, xkcd sucks.

Here is a comic about me that Ann made. It is my favorite thing in the world.

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